Even if Trudeau is suspect, Scheer is probably worse

You may not a big fan of Justin Trudeau at the moment; I'm having difficulty coming to terms with some of his decision-making myself. But we should be wary of a knee-jerk lurch to his main competitor in the upcoming Canadian  federal elections. And, speaking of jerks, we should be very wary of Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.
Not known as a policy heavyweight, what we do know about Scheer should be enough to give us pause. And what better indication of where he is coming from than his attendance of, and support for, the United We Roll "convoy" earlier this week.
Ostensibly, United We Roll is a grass-roots Western Canadian pro-pipeline and anti-carbon tax initiative. In reality, it is suffused with far-right and anti-immigration philosophies. Some attendees were wearing "Make Canada Great Again" baseball caps, which should be enough to warn anybody off. Also associated with the group is the xenophobic Yellow Vests Canada contingent (have these people no imagination, that they need to beg, borrow or steal names and slogans from others?), some of whose members have recommended, among other things, that Justin Trudeau be shot, and others that he be charged with treason.
And who spoke at United We Roll's Ottawa rally: too-conservative-for-the-conservatives Maxine Bernier, who has railed against what he sees as Canada's "extreme multiculturalism"; far-right firebrand and ex-Rebel Media personality Faith Goldy, whose contribution included telling Indigenous counter-protestors "If you don't like our country, leave it"; and Saskatchewan Senator David Tkachuk who suggested to the rollers that "I want you to roll over every Liberal left in the country", which, in the aftermath of last summer's drive-by massacre in Toronto, was hardly politic, and for which he refuses to apologize. And, who else? Oh, yes, one Andrew Scheer.
Yes, Andrew Scheer was there, front and centre, apparently quite content with the company he was keeping, and even sent out Trump-esque tweets of his strong support for the rally. The Conservative Party of Canada is already moving further to the right under his leadership. For example, Scheer plans to end birthright citizenship if elected, and has made no secret of his opposition to same-sex marriage. He has also initiated an equally Trumpian, factually incorrect, misinformation campaign - taken up, notably, by the United We Roll people - concerning Canada's signing on to the UN compact on migration. And climate change? Don't get me started.
I could go on, but you get the idea. Trudeau has made some mistakes and missteps in the last year or two, sure. But who knows what steps Andrew Scheer would have made in similar circumstances. If it's a choice between a Prime Minister who has brought in some solid progressive advanced and rebuilt Canada's image on the world stage but shown himself to be all-too-human at times, and a pretender of uncertain morals and reactionary policies, then maybe we have to hold our noses and stick with the Liberals, on the grounds that the alternative is likely to be worse for the country. "Better the devil you know" may not be a great reason for voting, but deliberately voting in a worse devil as some kind of a protest is an even sillier idea.